PAGES

• Home
• The Book
• Free Downloads
• Fitness Products
• Diet and Food Supplements
• About Us
• My Professional Life as an Engineer
• Contact Us
• K*I*S*S* Health and Fitness Blog
• Links
• The K*I*S*S* Fitness Program for KIDS
• The K*I*S*S* Weight Training Program

About Us

This photo was taken after I won the 2007 Rotary "Fitness Fair" on Truk (now called Chuuk), a group of small islands in Micronesia. I won for my age group and was also the overall winner for the event. The Fitness Fair consisted of tests for the number of push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups a person could do as well as for how fast he could run a one mile course. I won the event in spite of the fact that I was the oldest competitor. I was also the overall winner of the 2006 Fitness Fair when I again was the oldest competitor.

My interest in fitness probably began in my high school years when I became a member of the Ariel Rowing Club in New York City.  I have rowed on and off since then whenever I lived near the water.  Rowing with a sliding seat is probably the best all-around exercise there is.  During the summer after I graduated from high school, I bought my first barbell set.  I became a fairly good lifter in college simply by doing basic exercises with as much weight as I could handle.  I may have even been the strongest man in the college I attended.  My interest in weight training has continued to this day as well.  Shortly after I began graduate school, Kenneth Cooper wrote his now famous Aerobics book and, as a result, people became increasingly aware of the importance of endurance training.  So, I started to run and, eventually, I became locally competitive as a distance runner.  Along with rowing and weight training, I also continue to run.  While weight training is probably the most efficient way to gain strength, running is probably the most efficient way to improve your endurance.  I feel that I was fortunate to have been exposed to these two sports --- and rowing --- while I was relatively young.

Here I am at age 26 weighing around 180 pounds. In addition to lifting weights, I was doing a lot of bicycle riding then.

Although I’ve done alright at these three sports, I will confess that, over the years, my fitness programs have had their ups and downs.  I would do well for a while and then, for one reason or another, I would lay off for a week, a month, or even longer.  I am definitely not one of the fortunate few who have managed to stay in great shape all their lives.  As I look back, it seems that I was always trying to “get back in shape again.”  Perhaps the good thing about this is that I can easily relate to problems the beginner or out-of-shape adult might have when he or she embarks on a fitness program.  So, the K*I*S*S* Fitness Program is written not from the point of view of a guy who "knows it all" but rather from the point of view of someone who has made mistakes and has learned from them and would like to pass along what he has learned. 

This photo was taken when I was around 16 years old (over 50 years ago!) while rowing in New York City. I was the youngest guy in the crew. Our coach had a lot of faith in me and let me be the "stroke" for the crew (row in the rear position).

In recent years, I have noticed a trend away from the “basics” to exercise programs that are increasingly more complex.  There is also a tendency to do exercises (with or without machines) that isolate this or that muscle rather than compound exercises that exercise a large number of muscles simultaneously.  Natural movements involve multiple muscle groups working together to produce the movement you desire.  Exercise has become unnatural.  The K*I*S*S* Fitness Program is based on free-hand exercises that are natural movements which, for the most part, are compound exercises.  The K*IS*S* Weight Training Program will use the same approach except that weights will be used to provide added resistance to the exercises.  My hope is that, by means of these books and other means, I will be able to bring about a return to simpler fitness programs.  This is my retirement career… 

Please click here if you would like to learn a little about My Professional Life as an Engineer.

Marian takes a break from cooking supper. Island girls are strong and tough. This photo was taken after only around one year of exercise at the local YMCA. Marian doesn't do bicep curls either! Just simple basic exercises with or without weights. Marian is a good example of what an (almost) middle-aged mother can expect to achieve with a regular well-balanced exercise program. Marian won't let me reveal her age but 20 was quite a while ago.

Marian (my wife!) is a native Pacific islander.  Like many of the women in her island group, she is quite strong.  Hard physical work is part of the normal routine there, whether it’s carrying a heavy load in a wheelbarrow or on your shoulders.  Now that we’re living in the U.S., she has become keenly interested in health and fitness, both for her own sake as well as for the sake of our two young children.  Our diet is tops and we both exercise regularly at the local YMCA.  I feel she is rapidly becoming one of the star female athletes at the fitness center there.  We look forward to many more years of health, fitness, and fun together.